Doug McDermott by the numbers

A look at the points scored, awards earned, lists climbed and games played during Doug McDermott's Creighton career.

3,150 points: Play-by-play Film study and analysis by Dirk Chatelain

Why was Doug McDermott so difficult to defend? It comes down to versatility. Without extraordinary size or quickness, McDermott became one of college basketball's greatest scorers. He did it with a skill set so polished, it's hard to narrow down what he does best. You can decide for yourself. Here is a breakdown of all 1,141 of McDermott's career field goals. We charted them over the past two weeks after studying video of all 145 games.

McDermott scoring plays

Post-up game

If you had to pinpoint McDermott's best spot on the floor, you might focus on the block.

His ability to get the ball in the basket from seemingly impossible positions was uncanny. McDermott's post-up game combined touch, tenacity, footwork, core strength, body control and a left hand among the best college basketball has ever seen.

McDermott's release was so quick, sometimes you wondered if he saw the basket before he let the ball go. Sophomore season, back-to-the-basket post-ups accounted for 105 of his 307 field goals. Junior season, it was only 58. Senior season, it was 47.

For McDermott's career, the split between right post and left post was 146/163. But no matter what side, he preferred to turn baseline, partly because he was so adept at shielding his defender on the high side.

Posting on the right block, he scored 79 career field goals turning to his left shoulder and using his right hand — he was a master of the baby hook.

On the left block, he scored 100 times turning to his right shoulder. But 33 of those came with the left hand. In fact, the signature shot of his sophomore season was a post-up on the left block, turn to the right shoulder and, with a hand in his face, he drained an 8-to-10-foot left-handed shot off glass. Go try that in the driveway.

309FIELD GOALS

Layups at the rim

We compiled McDermott's career shot chart, the first thing you'd notice is the high number of baskets within five feet of the rim. Defenses have tried and tried, but they can't keep him away. Rim layups is a broad label, but primarily it consists of plays in which McDermott caught the ball and laid it in without a post move. Doesn't mean they're always easy shots — many are highly contested.

The 'automatic layup'

Senior night. 2:15 left.

Doug McDermott had already eclipsed 3,000, but he was one point shy of his career high, 44.

How would his father get him one more bucket?

Call the oldest and best set play in the book, a play Doug jokingly labels "the automatic layup."

"I went the wrong way on the cut actually," McDermott said. "I went over it instead of under. It works a lot better if you go under it. I just happened to kinda make a ridiculous shot there."

The first time he scored on it was against BYU his freshman year. In his career, McDermott would score 22 baskets on it, most uncontested. "What makes it so effective is how fast Doug can catch it and get it off," assistant Darian DeVries said. "So if the defender doesn't play it perfectly, it's hard."

McDermott's second most prolific set play? The ball starts on a wing. McDermott starts at the opposite elbow and accepts a cross screen from a fellow big man, usually Gregory Echenique or Ethan Wragge. He has the option to curl around the pick and dive to the rim, or pop out to the top of the key for a 3. The play first appeared in McDermott's sophomore season. Since then, he scored 18 baskets on it, including 14 3s.

140FIELD GOALS

Transition baskets

Few big men at any level of basketball run the floor like McDermott.

Combined with Creighton's commitment to an accelerated tempo, this is a recipe for easy baskets in transition.

McDermott scored 55 2-pointers on the fast break. But notice how he used transition the past two years — for open 3s.

McDermott loves the transition 3, especially from the top of the key.

He made 17 treys in transition his senior year.

91FIELD GOALS

Cuts to the basket

McDermott's movement without the ball may be his defining trait.

But early in his career, he used it mostly to gain superior position inside. As he diversified his skill set and became more of a perimeter scorer, he found a new weapon, catching the ball on the move and scoring. These cuts to the basket produced 36 field goals as a senior.

"So we would roll Doug into the block on 6-foot guys all the time. As he's gotten older, because he's so good down there, teams haven't switched nearly as much. They keep the 6-7, 6-8 guy on him. It's more advantageous for us to have Doug moving and having a 6-7, 6-8 guy try to chase him around than having him try to muscle them down on the block."

87FIELD GOALS

Free throws

Great scorers have a way of quietly accumulating 20-plus points.

How?

The free-throw line.

Doug McDermott is no exception.

Nineteen percent of his 3,150 points came at the charity stripe. McDermott's career free-throw percentage was
83.1.

Just for fun, let's say he would've shot 90 percent. How many career points would he have scored?

3,200 on the dot.

594FREE THROWS MADE ON 715 ATTEMPTS

Offensive rebounds

McDermott grabbed 84 offensive rebounds his sophomore season. More than half, he followed with a bucket.

McDermott was a glass-eater in his first All-American campaign, outworking opponents for loose balls, exhibiting his soft hands and quick release to score.

His total offensive boards dropped significantly the past two years (58 and 57 as a senior). His field goals from offensive rebounding fell, too.

126FIELD GOALS

Dunks

Why did McDermott return to Creighton for his senior year?

Forget 3,000 points.

Eight career dunks weren't enough!

He exceeded that this season alone, showing a little extra bounce.

Beware, Dwight Howard.

17FIELD GOALS

Mid-range jumpers

McDermott started changing his game as a junior, stepping away from the basket more often. But not until Creighton joined the Big East did he embrace the midrange jump shot. As a sophomore, he was primarily a back-to-the-basket scorer. He made only seven jumpers all year from inside the arc. As a senior, McDermott preferred to post up 12-18 feet from the rim, then face up, where he could rise and fire. "As a face-up player," Creighton assistant Darian DeVries said, "you have so many more options than if you just have your back to the basket."

The stepback jumper

They called it the "Nowitzki" because, well, who else did it besides Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki? A fallaway
jumper off one foot, usually off the dribble, carries a high degree of difficulty. But in the summer of 2012, McDermott and Creighton assistant Darian DeVries were looking for a new weapon — an edge on bigger, more athletic defenders. They drilled it day after day, perfecting the footwork. "When you go off your back foot like that, everything you've ever been taught as a shooter is now off balance and different," DeVries said. "You're jumping off your back foot fading away from the basket, where everything you've ever been taught is inside foot going toward the basket. There aren't a lot of guys that can do that." McDermott used the Nowitzki shot a few times as a junior. As a senior, it became one of his go-to moves. He scored on the one-foot fall-away 19 times.

74FIELD GOALS

3-pointers

The shot to beat St. John's. The shot to beat Butler. The shot to put him over 3,000 points. The shot to bury
Louisiana in the NCAA tournament.

What do they have in common?

They came from 3-point range.

McDermott was an excellent high school shooter, but early on at Creighton, he spent an overwhelming majority of his time around the basket.

In McDermott's freshman and sophomore seasons, his 3s were mostly unguarded. He set high screens, then popped to
a place on the arc and waited for a pass. Or he simply spotted up.

Defenses didn't key on his jump shot.

Junior season, however, McDermott's outside stroke flourished.

He not only hit 49 percent of his 3s, he made most with a hand in his face. His release was noticeably quicker.

As a senior, McDermott added another element to his 3-point arsenal — range.

Roughly half of his 3s came from NBA range.

His favorite spot on the floor? The top of the key. Forty percent of McDermott's career 3s came from straight away.

274FIELD GOALS

Drives

McDermott's dribbling will never be confused with Steph Curry — or even 6-10 Kevin Durant.

And as a sophomore, you could count McDermott's dribbles in a game on two hands.

But his handle has improved. He doesn't need a teammate to assist him anymore.

As a senior, McDermott scored 46 buckets on the drive, most of which he drove the ball left.

122FIELD GOALS

And 1s

McDermott's ability to finish in traffic is a reflection of his remarkable skill around the rim. He's also adept at drawing fouls — leaning into a defender enough to get a whistle, but still maintaining body control.

67FIELD GOALS

Note: Field-goal numbers don't add up to McDermott's career total of 1,141, because there is crossover in a few categories. A cut, for instance, also may lead to a rim layup.

Basketball Times Player of the Year Award

Basketball Times All-American

AP All-America First Team

Announced March 31, Doug McDermott is a three-time All-America selection. A unanimous selection, McDermott became just the 11th player to be selected to the first team three times and the first since Patrick Ewing and Wayman Tisdale did it from 1983 through 1985.

The AP honor also clinched consensus first-team All-America status for McDermott for the third straight season. The teams picked by AP, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the United States Basketball Writers Association and the Sporting News are used in determining consensus All-Americans.

Preseason Associated Press First Team All-American

Preseason Big East Player of the Year

Big East Conference All-Tournament Team

Preseason All-Big East Conference

Big East Player of the Week, Nov. 18

Big East Player of the Week, Nov. 25

Big East Player of the Week, Dec. 9

Big East Player of the Week, Jan. 6

Big East Player of the Week, Jan. 13

Big East Player of the Week, Feb. 3

Big East Player of the Week, Feb. 17

Big East Player of the Week, March 9

Big East player of the year

In Creighton's first season in its new conference, the team's senior star takes home the top individual honor.

McDermott won the conference's player of the week honor a Big East-record eight times.

WOODEN AWARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Creighton forward Doug McDermott was announced as the John R. Wooden Award winner on Friday, April 4. The award, presented annually to the nation's top basketball player, is selected by a ballot of nearly 1,000 voters from across the country. McDermott was given the Wooden Award by the namesake's grandson, Greg Wooden, on behalf of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. He was a three-time All-America selection by the organization.

Lute Olson player of the year award

Creighton's Doug McDermott won the 2014 Lute Olson national player of the year award on Friday, April 4, becoming the award's first two-time honoree.

BleacherReport

First Team All-American

BleacherReport

National Player of the Year

CBS SPORTS NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Capital One Cup Impact Performance of the Week, Jan. 23

Capital One Cup Impact Performance of the Week, Feb. 27

Capital One Cup Impact Performance of the Week, March 13

CBS Sports First Team All-American

CBS Sports National Player of the Week, Jan. 6

CBS Sports National Player of the Week, Jan. 13

CBS Sports National Player of the Week, Feb. 17

Dick Vitale National Player of the Year

Dick Vitale All-Solid Gold Team

ESPN.com National Player of the Week, Nov. 18

ESPN.com National Player of the Week, Feb. 3

First Team All-Big East

John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 List

John R. Wooden All-America Team

John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 List

NABC First Team All-American

NABC Player of the Year

The National Association of Basketball Coaches selected McDermott as its national player of the year, making the Creighton star the 12th man to be named a three-time NABC first team All-America selection since the awards began in 1946-47.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

McDermott wins by largest-ever voting margin

Creighton forward Doug McDermott captured 64 of 65 first-place votes, winning the AP's top individual men's basketball honor by the largest voting margin in the history of the award dating back to 1960-61.

"This is a huge honor," McDermott said. "It's been a heck of a ride. It has been a great four years."

Lute Olson Award Preseason All-American

Lute Olson Award Finalist

Naismith Player of the Week, Feb. 17

Naismith Award Preseason Watch List (50)

Naismith Award Midseason Watch List (30)

Naismith Award Semifinalist (10)

Naismith Award Player of the Year Finalist (4)

NBC Sports First Team All-American

NBC Sports First Team All-Big East

NBC Sports National Player of the Week, Jan. 13

NBC Sports National Player of the Week, Feb. 17

NBC Sports National Player of the Year

Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List (23)

Oscar Robertson Trophy Finalist (15)

OSCAR ROBERTSON PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Creighton forward Doug McDermott was honored as the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Oscar Robertson Trophy winner on Friday, April 4. McDermott, a three-time USBWA All-America selection, was presented with the nation's oldest player of the year trophy by Robertson himself, pictured at right.

Preseason Blue Ribbon Yearbook First Team All-American

Preseason CBS Sports First Team All-American

Preseason NBC Sports First Team All-American

Preseason Sporting News First Team All-American

Preseason USA Today First Team All-American

Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List (23)

Senior CLASS Award Candidate (30)

Senior CLASS Award Finalist (10)

Seth Davis' Preseason First Team All-American

Sporting News First Team All-American

Sporting News Midseason First Team All-American

Sporting News National Player of the Year

Sporting News is considered one of four "major" selectors used to denote consensus status for All-America teams, and therefore carries more weight than many other similarly viewed publications.

Senior CLASS Award winner

Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School; awarded with an emphasis on celebrating the athlete's character and achievements in the classroom, community, and competition.

Sports Illustrated Midseason First Team All-American

Sports Illustrated First Team All-American

USBWA First Team All-American

USBWA First Team All-District VI

USBWA National Player of the Week, Jan. 14

USBWA National Player of the Week, Feb. 18

USA Today First Team All-American

USA TODAY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Wooden Legacy All-Tournament Team

NCAA all-time scoring leaders

Bluejays star forward Doug McDermott is one of 64 men's basketball players to score 2,500 or more points in a college career.